Report: Brigg Town CIC 1-7 Iron

Following a week of pre-season preparations ahead of their opening fixture against Brigg Town CIC, the Iron would make the trip to the Hawthorns looking to retain the Julie Taylor Trophy, having won the previous encounter between the sides two years prior.

With United debuting their new home shirt for the 2026-27 season, the Iron faithful would also be able to get a first look at Andy Butler’s new-look side with seven new additions making their debuts in the form of Cal Howe, Reagan Ogle, Jordan Richards, Jacob Butterfield, James Gale, Luke Brennan and Kyle Hurst.

With two scheduled XI’s for both halves at the EC Surfacing Stadium, the Iron’s side for the first period would get proceedings underway for the new season and made no mistake in getting straight to work at applying the pressure to their step six opponents.

After an opening ten minutes of half chances that failed to test Liam Higton between the Zebras’ goalposts, Scunthorpe would create a golden opportunity to open the scores when some direct forward running from Brennan saw him skip beyond the Brigg defence before pulling the ball back to the edge of the area for trialist Sam Aston to attack, firing a low driven effort towards the bottom corner that was crucially stopped by Higton.

Following this opportunity, it wouldn’t take long for an impressive-looking Iron to break the deadlock, as a route one free-kick from Will Evans would see Welshman Pat Jones dispatched down the right flank, breaking into the penalty area before finishing the attack with a composed finish into the bottom corner.

With Aston looking lively in the centre of the Scunthorpe midfield, the 19-year-old would look to construct another chance when he received the ball on the edge of the area and opted to flick the ball over the covering defender, seeing the lovely piece of skill appear to strike the hand of a Brigg defender, although it wasn’t enough to warrant a penalty as the referee waved play on.

With 40 minutes played and United looking to expand on their advantage, they would do just that when Aston’s persistence paid off, when his front post corner delivery found the stampeding Will Evans in the area, allowing the Central Defender to power the ball beyond the goalkeeper for Scunthorpe’s second of the evening.

With half-time fast approaching, there would still be time for the Iron to deal another blow to their hosts as Jones would add to his goal contributions tally with a glorious assist from the left flank, driving to the by-line with electric pace before putting the ball on a plate for Forward Dec Howe in the area, allowing Howe to slot home from a matter of yards.

Following this action, referee Ryan Coulson would sound his whistle for the half-time break, signalling for a new Iron side to take to the field of play for the second period, adopting a different formation from the first half’s side.

After the restart, it would take United less than five minutes to get back on the scoresheet, and it would be the pick of the encounters bunch from Scotsman Connor Smith as he bombarded down the left flank before chopping inside and releasing a sensational curling effort that nestled beautifully in the top corner for his first of the match.

At this stage of the proceedings, Scunthorpe were really finding their rhythm, and there would be no let-up for the Zebras’ defence, as a 5th goal of the night was added on 59 minutes. Again, it was Smith who provided the composed finish for his side, although it would come from a scintillating team passing move that was topped off with a lovely side-footed strike from inside the area.

In what had been a half of one-way traffic to this point, the Iron would show no signs of slowing down as they added another to make it a quickfire double courtesy of a smart move down the right-hand side that saw Harry Shipstone slide the ball down the channel for wide-man Kyle Hurst to latch onto inside the area, driving a low shot beneath the goalkeeper on his permanent debut for the club.

With 64 minutes on the clock, the hosts would find their only goal of the game in sublime fashion when former Sheffield United man Reece York picked up possession on the left and proceeded to go on a winding run into the Iron area, beating three defenders before skilfully finishing the move with a composed strike past Maison Campbell.

As the half progressed, it would become increasingly obvious that Smith was hungry for his hat-trick, and he would very nearly find it after being on the pitch for just 23 minutes, when he looked to replicate his first goal by again chopping inside his marker onto his stronger right foot before looking to wrap the ball into the far corner, narrowly missing the target on that occasion as his effort nestled marginally wide.

With the game drawing to its close with United still firmly in the driver’s seat, there would still be time for Scunthorpe to inflict insult to injury when Hurst produced a remarkable assist to set up Danny Whitehall for his team’s 7th. Twisting and turning his way into the penalty area, Hurst would leave three players lying beneath him with one fatal fake shot before crossing the ball into the unmarked Whitehall at the far post, who made no mistake when lashing the ball home from close range.

This goal would bring the evening’s action to an end in North Lincolnshire as, despite some valiant defending from the Zebras, Scunthorpe would run out comfortable winners to retain the trophy in what was an impressive start to their pre-season fixtures.

IRON FIRST HALF XI: L. Jones, Belehouan, Evans, D. Howe, Brennan, P. Jones, Richards, Gale, Denton, Barrows, Aston.

IRON SECOND HALF XI: Campbell, Rose, Horton, C. Howe, Whitehall, Rowley, Smith, Hurst, Ogle, Butterfield, Shipstone.

ATTENDANCE: 1,315

REFEREE: Ryan Coulson